Lucky Bowling Socks
by DryadSpeaks
Summary: Spinoff of All My Dreams Chapter 52 and The Smile on Your Face Chapter 35.  Quinn and Artie go bowling with Martin and AJ.  There is Quartie cuteness.  And, as the title suggests, lucky bowling socks.  Too bad they're not so lucky.


"Dude, we should go bowling. Martin, you, Quinn, and me. It will be amazing."

Artie sat there, staring at AJ. "So, what...you want you and Martin to go on a double date with me and Quinn?"

"Well, not so much a double date as you and Quinn going out with Martin and me...so yeah, I guess a double date." AJ said, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Not that Martin and I are dating...but I don't know what else to call it."

Artie laughed. He knew that there were lots of people around who figured that Martin and AJ WERE dating, because they were always together, but he knew they were just best friends. Sometimes he kind of admired the epic bromance they had, even though he knew it wasn't something he'd do. If either of them ever got a girlfriend (or boyfriend, if they were so inclined...he honestly wasn't sure), he was pretty sure the other would be completely lost.

The few times he'd spent time with one of them without the other, something had always seemed off. They were always "Martin and AJ," never "Martin or AJ." Seeing one without the other was just...wrong. It was like peanut butter without jelly. Or rain without clouds. It was something that just seemed so out of place.

"Sure. Let me check with Quinn, but I'm pretty sure she'll say yes. She was actually talking about getting to know you guys better the other day."

AJ grinned. "She is hot."

Artie turned a bit, so he was facing him head-on. "AJ, for future reference, when you're making plans to go out with someone and THEIR girlfriend, you do NOT say that you think their girlfriend is hot."

"Right. Sorry, bro. I always forget that."

Artie tried not to let his amusement show on his face. He knew that sometimes AJ's mind turned its filters off. He could totally relate, and it was kind of funny to watch it happen to someone else. "It's cool...just don't let it happen again."

"So...tomorrow? around 3?" AJ said, packing up his bag and getting ready to leave.

At this point, it dawned on Artie that they were sans Martin.

"Sure, that works. Forgot to ask...where's Martin?"

"Oh, he had to help his mom with something right after school. We were going to come find you together, but he had to leave, so I took charge of the situation. He's coming over to my house after he's done for some Mario Kart...want to come?"

Artie thought for a moment. "I can't. I promised Quinn we'd spend some time together tonight. She wanted to talk about some of her homework, and...you know."

AJ grinned. "Yeah, I can see how you'd pick that over us. Oh, by the way...probably should have asked this earlier...you can bowl, right? I mean..."

Artie laughed. He was wondering when that would come up. "Yes, of course I can bowl. If I couldn't, don't you think I'd have said something?"

"Awesome, bro. Ok...I have to go. See you later?"

As Artie closed up the AV Club room, he couldn't help but feel pleased at the fact that Quinn was finally going to get to spend some quality time with his friends.

* * *

"Artie, maybe you should phone one of them. Are they usually this late?" Quinn asked, looking at the clock. They had agreed to meet at Artie's house, and then all go to the bowling alley together. Martin had a decent-sized car, and they had decided that he should drive.

"They're only...half an hour late. I bet you anything it's AJ...Martin gets really antsy if he MIGHT be late...there's no way he's at the root of their lateness."

Quinn grinned. She didn't really know either of them that well, but she could believe that it would be AJ that would make them late. Martin was so reserved, tidy, and always early for the two classes that they shared. AJ, on the other hand, frequently looked like he had gotten dressed in the dark, could frequently be heard telling loud and probably embellished stories, and was always late for class.

"Maybe you should text Martin, just to make sure everything's ok?"

Just then, Artie's phone beeped. He had a new text, from Martin.

"We're just leaving now. Been at AJ's for half an hour looking for his lucky socks. Apparently he can't bowl without them. See you in a bit!" he read out to a grinning Quinn.

"Lucky socks? I wonder if they're antibacterial. You know...bowling shoes..." She couldn't even finish her sentence.

Artie burst out laughing. "I doubt that. If anything, the point of the lucky socks is that they are so...ugh, that they scare away any bacteria that MIGHT be in the shoes."

"Oh, Artie, yuck!" Quinn giggled.

"You know you love it. Come here," he said, drawing her in for a quick kiss.

*bing bong*

The doorbell chimed, announcing the arrival of his friends.

"Sorry we're late, bro. I had a problem." AJ said, as he walked through the door.

"AJ...Artie knows, and I'm pretty sure he told Quinn. By the way, hey Quinn!" Martin said, smiling.

"Well, I can't bowl without them! You know that. Hi Quinn." AJ grinned sheepishly. He couldn't believe that Martin had told them they had been looking for his lucky socks. He was going for a good first impression with Quinn, and then Martin did that? He was going to have to talk to him about it later.

"Hey guys...good to see you!" she said. "Ready to go?"

* * *

"Just park there. No, just park there! Artie has that little sign! PARK THERE!"

"AJ. SHUT UP! I AM!" Martin yelled, pulling into the parking spot. "We don't have hyperdrive here...I have to actually GET TO THE SPOT before I can park in it."

Artie didn't think he'd ever heard Martin raise his voice. He looked over, noting the slightly crazed look in Martin's eyes, and decided not to say anything. He looked back, noticing that AJ looked like he was about to say something.

"Sorry, it just looked like you weren't going to."

Martin sighed, pulling on the parking brake and opening his door.

* * *

Once they were in the bowling alley, the mood seemed to lighten up a bit. Artie was wondering what was going on between them. Clearly something had happened before they'd arrived at his house, and he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with lucky bowling socks. Well...he guessed it mostly had nothing to do with the socks...he could see that being something that would annoy Martin, but not THAT much.

"Oh good, they have that electronic score thing. I have no idea how that works when you have to do it on paper," AJ said, as they were getting set up.

Quinn agreed. "I think that's pretty standard in newer places. And this is what...two years old?"

"Ok, let's get this show on the road," Artie said, adjusting his gloves. "Who's going first?"

"Ladies first," AJ piped up, "so that means either Quinn or Martin."

Martin grumbled something, and then said that Quinn should go first.

"Promise you guys won't laugh? I'm not exactly good at this." she said, grabbing a ball.

Three gutter balls later, Artie had to agree with her. She was terrible. He thought it was adorable. "I think you're too far over on the right. Next time try it more in the middle. Here, I'll show you," he said, placing a ball in his lap and wheeling toward the lane.

He bowled a perfect strike.

"Artie! How did you do that?" Quinn asked, looking slightly shocked.

He grinned. "Linds used to love to go bowling with me, until I got so good that she decided she needed to find someone else to bowl with. Even when I tried to let her win...it never worked. Now she mostly bowls with Mom...who kind of bowls like you."

She swatted him playfully on the shoulder, and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Get a room you two," AJ said, getting ready to take his turn. "PDAs have no place at the bowling alley! You might distract someone!"

"What he means is, you might distract him. God forbid his bowling socks aren't actually as lucky as he thinks they are, and he actually needs to have some skill to pull this off," Martin said.

Something was wrong. Since they had been friends, Artie had never once seen them mad at each other. They seemed to have the perfect guy friendship. When he thought of friendships with other guys, they were his role model. Maybe that was kind of weird, but it was true.

As AJ bowled his turn, with Quinn watching, Artie went over to Martin.

"Is everything ok? You seem a little stressed."

"I'm fine," he said, shifting in his seat, "we just had an issue this morning, but it's all good."

"Yeah, I'm sure it's all good. That's why you're sitting here like someone stole your waffles, randomly spewing comments that are completely out of character for you."

Martin grinned. He should have known that Artie would see through whatever he told him if it wasn't the truth.

"Fine. I'm just kind of annoyed with him. Last night during Mario Kart he said that he thought we should find some other friends, because everyone thinks we're gay because we spend so much time together."

Artie didn't know what to say. How do you respond to something like that?

Martin went on. "It's not the first time he's said something like that. I keep telling him that we know we're not, and even if we were that it's nobody's business, but he doesn't care. I told him that we do have other friends, like you and Mark, but apparently that wasn't good enough. So, apparently we are now 'branching out.' Whatever that means. Oh...my turn. Let's finish this in a few minutes."

As Martin bowled (quite well, Artie couldn't help but notice), Quinn came up behind Artie, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"What was that about? He looked like he wanted to cry."

"Oh...nothing. Well, not nothing, but I'll tell you later?" He didn't really want to tell her about it in the middle of the bowling alley.

She nodded. "Here's a kiss for good luck on your next turn! Let's see if you can bowl a perfect game."

He grinned. He had done that before, and he thought it might be nice to impress her by doing it again. After bowling another strike, he decided that that goal was achievable.

Quinn took her turn, and her ball ended up in the gutter on every try again.

"Artie, I'm going to bowl a 0. A 0! This is ridiculous."

He laughed. "No you're not. You're just getting warmed up. Or something."

As AJ went to take his next turn, Artie went back to Martin to finish the conversation.

"So, anyway. We talked about it for a bit, and I thought everything was ok. Then this morning when we're looking for his damned socks he says again that maybe we should start hanging out with each other less. It just pisses me off. We've been best friends for so long..."

Artie really didn't know what to say. "Well...I'm not going to lie. I have no idea what to say about this."

Martin grinned. "I know. I probably wouldn't know what to say either. I know it'll blow over, I'm just kind of annoyed. And he doesn't even really seem to notice. I think he thinks everything is fine."

Just then, AJ came...hopping over, for lack of a better word.

"Martin, it's your turn. Quinn and I obviously aren't giving Artie a run for his money, so it's all in your hands now. I believe in you, bro."

Martin stood up. "Nice to know that you believe in me to win at bowling. Too bad that sentiment doesn't extend to the rest of our friendship."

AJ looked stunned. "What?"

"You know what I mean," Martin grumbled, preparing to take his turn. After bowling a strike, he returned to his seat on the bench.

"What the hell are you talking about?" AJ burst out, as soon as Martin was sitting down. "Is this because of what I said last night? Because I was thinking about it some more, and I decided that I don't care what people think. We don't need to find more friends. I like it just how it is. You and me, and sometimes Artie...and Quinn, now. I was going to tell you that this morning when you started bitching at me about my socks, but then you were in such a shitty mood that I just decided to wait."

Artie and Quinn just sat there. Bowling could wait...this needed to be sorted out first.

"Dude...really? Why didn't you say something? The reason I was in a bad mood was because I was mad. If you had just said that, it would have been fine."

"Hold up. Did you just say 'dude?'" Artie cut in, "I don't think I've ever heard you say that before."

Everyone laughed. Apparently Artie's slight outburst was just the mood-lightener they needed.

"So, we're good?" AJ asked, looking over at Martin.

"Yeah...we're good. Artie, go do your thing now. I need to kick your ass here."

Artie bowled another strike. And the turn after that he bowled another. Martin was a fair match, and by the time they got down to the last turn for each of them, Martin was only twenty points behind Artie. If Artie missed the last one, Martin would win.

"Martin, I need you to win. If Quinn's date beats my date, I will never live this down. Please. I NEED this." AJ said, with a touch of urgency in his voice.

"Did you just refer to me as your date?"

AJ shrugged. "Um. Yeah. Not that I think we're dating. I just wasn't sure how else to phrase that. I mean...Artie is Quinn's date, and you're...my date?"

Martin laughed. "Well, if we are dating, I am definitely the man here."

Artie was glad to see that they were back to their usual selves.

"Quinn, your turn. Make me proud!" Artie said, moving out of the way.

She smirked. "Make you proud? My score so far is...12. 12!"

Her final turn did not gain her any points, and she joked about her having the lowest score the bowling alley had seen that night.

As Artie went to take his last turn, he realized what he should probably do. He glanced at Quinn over his shoulder, and she gave a small nod.

He let go of the ball, and it rolled about halfway down the lane, before rolling over into the gutter.

"YES!"

He could hear AJ jumping around behind him. When he turned, he saw that Martin was grinning at him. He gave him a small nod.

AJ went next, knocking over five pins.

"Ok Martin. I'm counting on you here. If you get a strike, you win. If not...I don't know what happens then because I still have no idea how this works, but I'm pretty sure you don't win."

The three of them sat in silence, watching Martin. He stepped up, released the ball, and bowled a strike.

"YOU DID IT!"

Before Artie or Quinn could react, AJ was out of his seat and had his arms wrapped around Martin, patting him on the back.

Quinn leaned over, and placed her arm around Artie's shoulders. "That was the sweetest thing I've ever seen. You could have bowled a perfect game, and instead you purposely pulled what I'm sure will now be known as a "Quinn," based on my lack of bowling skills. What would you have done if Martin hadn't bowled a strike?"

Artie grinned. "I don't know. I just knew that he would."

She leaned in closer. "I think you're the most amazing person ever. I love you so much."

He turned, and kissed her.

"I think you're pretty amazing too."

At that point, they noticed that Martin and AJ were standing there, watching them.

AJ turned to Martin.

"Dude. I know we're good again, but seriously...I am not going to kiss you because you won. Is that cool?"

Martin burst out laughing. "Yeah...I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that."

"Let's go again. Your ass is mine," Artie said to Martin, a mischievous glint in his eye.

* * *

The second time around, Artie showed no mercy, bowling a perfect game. Martin's score remained about the same, and both AJ and Quinn had some improvement. Quinn actually made it to about 25.

"I suggest we go for ice cream," Martin said, as they were getting ready to leave. "I'm pretty sure AJ said he'd pay."

AJ attempted to sputter a response, before deciding to just go along with it. He knew that Artie had helped make everything ok between them again, and paying for ice cream for him and Quinn (and Martin) was the least he could do.

"I think we should go through the drive through," Artie piped up from the back seat, "it's kind of cozy back here."

AJ turned around. "Seriously? You guys aren't...doing anything in Martin's back seat, are you?"

Quinn burst out laughing. "You wish."

AJ's face turned bright red, and he turned to face forward. Martin tried to stifle his laughter somewhat successfully, catching her eye in the rear view mirror.

They drove around for a bit while eating their ice cream, before returning to Artie's house. He invited them in for a bit, and they found themselves sitting in his living room. They talked about school, and about music, and all sorts of other things.

Finally, Martin stood up, announcing that they should probably get going.

As they headed out the door, AJ turned.

"Next time we're going to mini golf. I kick ass at that, and I bet Quinn does too. We will beat you guys!"

Artie and Martin laughed.

"Ok, but only if you promise not to wear your lucky socks, because they clearly suck," Martin said, closing the door as they left.

Quinn sat down on Artie's lap.

"I should probably go too...it's kind of late. You were amazing tonight."

He blushed, and attempted to protest.

"Shhh," she said, leaning in to snuggle into his neck. "Don't try to deny that. You totally made their day. And mine."

He grinned.

"As long as I impressed you, that's all that matters."

She laughed, and kissed him on the cheek.

"And promise me...if AJ was serious about the mini golf thing, we're going to have to go practice first. I suck at that."

He grinned. "I do too, and so do both of them. It will be epic."

**A/N: In case you're not aware, Martin and AJ are characters that I introduced in the story I'm writing with Violet-Shadow, called "Never Knew, This Dream of Mine." If you haven't read it, you should. I loved them so much that I decided they should be everywhere.**

**Writing this totally made me want to go bowling, but we only have stupid 5 pin here, and I find that ridiculously boring and hard!**

**Would there be interest in a mini golfing oneshot, if I were to write one? Now that Martin and AJ have sorted out their drama, there is a lot of potential here!**

**Hope you enjoyed this! Lots of excitement coming up in the next few weeks of my epic Quartieverse, so be sure to check back often!**

**Feedback greatly appreciated!**


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